


Old World Underground

by cheinsaw



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Alcohol, Banishment, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-27 03:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2677193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After successfully angering Gensokyo's entire aboveground population, Seija is forced to live in Former Hell, something that makes her less than happy. Suika just wants to see all her friends back together one last time.</p><p>A story of old friends, new friends, severed ties, and a bridge people no longer cross.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was my nanowrimo project. i gave up on trying to win because quite frankly i'm too depressed for it, but i plan to finish this fic anyway on my own time.
> 
> shout out to tateyamas for writing with me. here's your seija, she's your problem now.

Suika hears about the incident first, from Reimu. Nobody likes being around the Hakurei shrine more than Suika. It's her favorite place to hang out, to drink, to pass out on the floor, because Reimu is less of a hardass than she likes to think she is, and will usually take out of Blackout Suika when Suika can't take care of herself. It is from Reimu, of course, that she gains the information about the whereabouts of the last of the missing Four Devas.

"Oh, hey," Reimu says when she returns to the shrine without her purification rod to find Suika dozing off in a tree.

"Hi," Suika calls back down sleepily, through her drunken haze. "Where were you?"

"Incident. It's over now, Marisa and I solved it."

"Ohhh." Normally Suika wouldn't press the issue – incidents in Gensokyo are as plentiful as fairies, and Suika's caused a few herself, _and_ she's so drunk she can barely think straight – but then Reimu continues.

"Yeah, it was some amanojaku flipping around the powers of our tools and trying to overturn society."

Now _that_ is interesting. A long, long time ago, Suika knew someone who might have tried to do just that. Another oni, one of her close friends from the Mount Ooe days, who could easily have become an amanojaku just by her contrarian nature. "Amanojaku? Really? What'd  they look like?"

"Uh." Reimu bites her lip. "Kinda short, black hair with red in it? Little nubby horns. I think she might like arrows. She literally flipped me upside down. Did you see that upside-down castle down past the human village? She was in there."

Suika nearly falls out of the tree in her excitement, a strong memory flashing before her eyes of her old friend half-scowling, half-grinning. "Reimu! That's Seija! I know her, that's Seija!"

"You _know_ her?"

"Yeah! We used to climb mountains together, her 'n' me 'n' Yuugi. And sometimes Kasen when she wanted to. They called us the Four Devas! She's so cool, I really miss her."

Reimu turns to go back into the shrine, undoubtedly to have a hot bath and relax from the stresses of incident solving. "Really? I dunno. She was kinda a pain in the ass. You might have the wrong person."

Suika _hmph_ s, but she knows she's right. It has to be Seija.

* * *

 

A few days later, Marisa delivers a cage-like dollhouse to the shrine's doorstep. "Hey, Suika. What's up? Reimu around?"

"Hung over," Suika says blearily, her cheek pressed into the cool grass. The only reason she isn't hung over herself is because she's still drunk from the night before.

"Oh, sweet. Can you watch this kid for me? I gotta do some errands." Marisa places the house-cage at Suika's side without waiting for an answer. "See ya."

Suika rolls over lazily, squinting at the little inchling behind the metal bars of the tiny windows. " _Ohhhh_ ," she says, suddenly understanding that this person was probably involved in the incident, and Reimu usually makes friends with youkai after their incidents are resolved, and that this girl might just have nowhere else to go. Suika grins sloppily and condenses herself down to the girl's tiny size. "Hi," she slurs, drunkenly swinging her arm through the bars in an attempt at a handshake. "I'm Suika. It's nice to meet you."

The inchling takes it delicately, shaking Suika's hand with a soft touch. "I am Sukuna Shinmyoumaru. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." She pauses. "You know, it's nice to have someone my own size here," she says, smiling.

"Yeah! Oh, we are gonna be _really_ good friends."

It's only a week later when Aya shows up to the shrine, dropping a copy of the Bunbunmaru nearly into Reimu's lap. "Hey, Reimu. This is important."

Suika watches as Reimu's eyes gloss over each character, taking it in. "What the _hell_?" she says finally, looking up at Aya.

"What? What happened?" Suika asks, leaning forward and nearly toppling herself over.

Reimu sighs deeply. "The amanojaku is at it again. I can't believe this. You _broke the spell card rules_?"

"We have to!" Aya says, exasperated. "We have to, she's impossible to deal with. Come on, Reimu… you've seen her."

"Okay," Reimu says, sounding unconvinced.

"I went out with Hatate to do a report, you know? She cheats. We need you to go fight her."

Suika can clearly tell Reimu doesn't want to. But she just pouts and groans and says, "Okay. Okay, I'll go. But I've pretty much had enough of fighting her, so if she pulls anything on me, I dunno, send Marisa."

"You've gotten lazy." Aya smiles. "Marisa's out there today."

Reimu inhales sharply. It's almost comical – Suika can just tell that Reimu's outraged at the fact that Marisa got to something like this before her. "Alright. Thanks for telling me."

"My pleasure!" Aya winks and speeds off to deliver her next paper, undoubtedly.

" _Ugh_ ," Reimu sighs loudly, and collapses down onto the shrine steps in frustration.

* * *

Reimu leaves early the next morning, no purification rod in her hand but plenty of talismans between her fingers. Suika watches her leave with her eyes half-open, still sleepy and hazy drunk. After the shrine's door slams shut, Suika's about ready to fall back asleep, but something stops her. A faint rattling noise from the other side of the shrine, and a small voice calling, "Um, Suika?"

Suika rolls over and heaves her too-tired body up to standing, and makes her way to the room with the kotatsu where Shinmyoumaru sits in her little dollhouse cage, her hands on the bars with a worried expression. "Suika?" she says again. "Could you let me out?"

"Mmhm." Suika clicks the bar of the door and lets it swing open. "Where're you going?"

Shinmyoumaru looks determinedly into Suika's eyes. "I'm going to go see her too." And with that, she hops out of the cage.

"Ohhhh. Hold on, I'll... help you." Manipulating her own body's density is easy, but she has to be careful with others'. So many organs and tissues that need to be in the right place. But Suika is no amateur when it comes to using her powers, and in seconds a human child-sized Shinmyoumaru is standing in front of her, looking more than a little confused and bewildered.

"I'm big again," she says, looking at her own hands.

"Hehehe, yeah! You weren't gonna get anywhere all tiny like that. Now go find Reimu."

Shinmyoumaru smiles happily. "Thank you, Suika." And with that, she's out the door.

 

Suika wakes up at four in the afternoon and it immediately hits her: she should have gone, too. She could have seen Seija again.

And so, the next day, she does. Reimu comes home with Shinmyoumaru in tow, and makes Suika return the inchling to her regular size. They both look upset. Reimu couldn't beat her, Suika knows that much. She'll get over it. But the quiet, sad expression on Shinmyoumaru's face is something else entirely – something Suika gets the feeling she shouldn't even ask about. And the next morning, she sets off to find Seija Kijin.


	2. Chapter 2

The last ten days have been pretty rough for Seija. She's been dealing with a seemingly endless barrage of humans and youkai alike, all incredibly angry with her and all of them breaking the spell card rules with absolutely no hesitation. Even _Suika_ , of all people, showed up, but she'd annoyingly diffused into mist before Seija could really talk to her. Not that Seija would want to talk to her that much anyway – her time as a Deva is long over, and Suika should know that by now.

Now, finally, she's faced Gensokyo's gap youkai, and lost, and the woman had just smiled and pulled a confused-looking shrine maiden out of thin air. In a flash, once she'd reoriented herself, she and the gap youkai had surrounded Seija. And then, the gap youkai says something so _incredibly fucking incomprehensible_ that Seija's taken aback for a few seconds.

Seija's heard a lot of bullshit in her time, but this is some pretty choice bullshit. "You what?" she asks, not really expecting an answer.

The Hakurei shrine maiden tilts her head a little. Seija is so old that she's never bothered to learn any of their names; they just blend together. "You're a wanted youkai. Don't tell me you haven't noticed, especially with the last few days. You're a huge pain to all of us."

"Good," Seija retorts.

"My," the gap youkai behind the shrine maiden says, flicking open her little paper fan. Seija mostly avoids the gap youkai. She doesn't know this woman's name either. "Are you really that unaware? Even after all of Gensokyo abandoned the spell card rules just to fight you?"

"I still won," Seija grumbles.

"Yeah, 'cause you _cheated_."

"What does that even matter? You weren't even following the fucking rules!"

"In any case," the gap youkai continues, "it's in your best interest as well as in the interests of Gensokyo to… ah… _relocate_ you, shall we say. To a place where many oni like yourself live, where you might fit in better."

"You're kicking me out?" Seija frowns as seethingly as she can manage. "I won't. I'm an amanojaku. Not an oni."

The gap youkai just smiles knowingly. Seija feels bare and exposed, like all her secrets are up front for everyone to see. "Ah, but I think you'll see that Former Hell can be quite inviting."

* * *

 

The trip down to the underworld is long and uncomfortable. Seija has to be _escorted_ , as is apparently protocol, flanked on either side by the Hakurei shrine maiden and her friend in the gaudy witch outfit, with the gap youkai trailing behind like a menacing ghost. All her powers have been stripped from her temporarily, and Seija has never been more humiliated. She's never been claustrophobic, but all this powerlessness and all these Strong Protectors of Gensokyo surrounding her are giving her major anxiety. Even the walls of the cave feel like they're closing in.

Eventually they come to a little bridge with a tiny blonde girl by its side. "Oh, you've come back? Welcome. Brought a friend this time, too, even – ah, Yakumo-san, my… my mistake," the girl trails off as she sees the gap youkai at the back of the party.

"Hello, little bridge princess," the gap youkai says, clearly amused. "Could you waive the crossing toll for me just this once?"

She nods glumly and lets them all pass, eyes cast downward. Seija cannot feel pity or empathy. But it's at times like this when she has to wonder why other people act the way they do. Even as she crosses the creaky wooden bridge over a cold-looking, murky river, the lights of the underground city visible not too far ahead, she wonders what the girl at the bridge did to get stuck down here. Maybe, sometime not too long ago, she was in the same position Seija is now, guarded and forced to live in the place where Gensokyo's rejects go.

At the end of the bridge, the gap youkai comes to stand in front of the group with what seems like no effort. "Ah, Reimu, Marisa, thank you. You're free to go."

"Sick," the witch says. "Reimu, wanna go drinking? Oni bars!"

"Sure, I love to almost die surrounded by oni." With that, the two humans wander off towards what looks like the more downtown area, where the lights are brightest and the noise is loudest.

"I've taken care to assign someone to your case. She'll get you acquainted with Former Hell."

"I don't need anyone to show me around," Seija protests.

"Fine, then. Suit yourself. You'll be stranded here with no powers. Goodbye." She snaps her parasol shut and opens a large gap, putting one dainty leg through.

"Wait!" Seija cries, hating how desperate it sounds.

The gap youkai just smiles and closes the rip in space. "Very well. Follow me."

Wherever they go in the town, people seem to look at the gap youkai with a kind of hushed reverence. Not that Seija's really looking. And not that she really _cares_ , but an awful lot of them have horns, too. Some of them are just like hers, two small points at the temples curving up from under a mess of hair. The streets are lined with countless stalls and restaurants and bars, hotels and places to gamble, and there's so many lanterns and lights and it's so crowded that it feels alive. It isn't like Seija was really expecting anything, but if she'd had to describe Former Hell before she got there, it would probably have been a much more desolate-sounding place than what she's seeing now. These streets do not look like a city of exiles. They look like a community of people who love having fun.

Seija resents that. She half-forms a plan to turn this entire city against itself, to make them all hate each other, but it's more of an idle thought than a real scheme. She'll solidify it later, once she has a better idea of the way this society works.

When they finally reach their destination, a boisterous bar staffed by several one-horned oni and lit by what looks like magic lanterns, the gap youkai only has to step inside for people to notice. The conversations come to a lull, and some of the patrons even turn around to face her in reverent fear.

"I'm here for a Hoshiguma?" she says, sickly sweet, obviously knowing all eyes are on her. "Hoshiguma Yuugi?"

Not for the first time today, Seija's stomach drops.

 

Yuugi's presence is highly imposing, just as it was all those years ago. Except, this time, Seija feels less protected, less fierce by association, and more like she's going to be the next person to get drunkenly roundhouse kicked with a couple of iron chains swinging into her back for good measure. Yuugi's cheerful sake-faced grin isn't helping. "Hey, Yakumo. How's… _oh_."

Seija glares up at Yuugi with all the fury she can manage.

The gap youkai smiles and disappears without a trace.

* * *

 

"So, um, nice to see ya again," Yuugi says once they've left the clamor of the bar for the fairly quiet back roads, walking along in a pattern that seems aimless to Seija.

"Sure," Seija mumbles. "So great to be down here."

Yuugi either doesn't catch her sarcasm or ignores it. "Do you know where you're gonna be living long term yet? You're welcome t' stay with me if you want, I mean, I have a girlfriend but she doesn't live with me. Just visits sometimes. She's pretty small, though. Barely takes up any space. Oh, or, some of the other oni live in these huge complexes together, like apartments? Those get pretty loud, if you're into that."

Yuugi is rambling, the way she always has when she's nervous. That has not changed. "Doesn't matter," Seija says. She's putting most of her focus on watching the patterns of the stones under her feet, laid in non-uniform but even paths, and if Yuugi keeps walking in huge strides like the fucking giant she is Seija's going to trip and fall on one of those stones. "I won't be down here long."

"Aw, don't be like that. We'll have some fun. Y'know, Suika wants to get us all back together. Like old times. Said something about mountain climbing last I heard, but I dunno, are you up for that?"

Seija stops walking. " _Yuugi_."

"Seij."

"I do not want to be here."

Yuugi snorts. "Well, yeah, nobody did, at first. You left before you really got to see, but this is our home now, an' I think you'll kinda like it too. Eventually. I mean…" She sighs. "Can't be easy to have been forced down here. I know. But–"

"No. I'm gonna get out."

"Hey."

"I didn't get to finish my work up there, I didn't get to – do anything, and the one person who I–" She stops. She shouldn't tell Yuugi about Shinmyoumaru. Shin hates her now. Just like everyone else in Gensokyo.

" _Seija._ Seij, listen. You've got no powers and the Hakurei shrine maiden _and_ Yakumo're looking out for you up above. You gotta stay down here. It's the only safe way. It's gonna be your home."

"I don't need a home!" Seija shrieks. Her emotions tend to spiral out of control when she gets overwhelmed like this. Damn it, she's almost crying. Can't cry. Definitely not in front of Yuugi. "Just… I'll do this shit on my own."

"A'right," Yuugi says, shrugging. "Well, uh, we're here, so you can at least crash here for the night, if you want."

They're standing on front of a little cottage in a row of them, all painted different colors and all so close together they're almost touching. The door is garishly red, with a bright yellow star painted on it. _Hoshiguma Yuugi_ , it says in the middle, an unorthodox but functional nameplate. Seija makes a face. "You live here?"

"Yep!" She unlocks the door and strides into the dark house. "Hold on, I'll get some lights in here. Uh, you can sleep on the couch, or the futon in the basement if you want?"

Seija does not plan to say here all night, not by any means. But if she can wait until Yuugi is asleep she's much more likely to actually get away undetected, and be long gone by the time anyone down here notices. "The futon, I guess. It doesn't matter."

"Alright! Do you need to eat, or did you already before you came down here, or…?"

Seija snorts. "I'm an amanojaku now, in case you hadn't noticed. I only need to survive off people hating me. Which they've been doing a whole fucking lot of lately."

Yuugi seems unfazed. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna go to bed then, okay? Door to the basement is over there. It's pretty straightforward, I think. Night, Seij."

"Thanks," Seija says. It sounds less sarcastic than she means, but Yuugi's getting off her case anyway, so it doesn't matter. "Night."

* * *

 

After she's sure Yuugi's asleep – Yuugi has always been a very sound sleeper, and she snores so loud it could wake the dead – Seija tiptoes her way through the house and back to the front door. Yuugi hasn't locked it or anything, so it's easy for her to simply slip out into the night, and _finally_ , finally she's free.

Seija spends the night wandering around the back streets of Former Hell, ones less well-lit and more shady, where she's more likely to see someone passed out drunk in an alley than someone laughing. She wonders if she's going to have to sleep on the side of the road somewhere. It wouldn't be the first time. Before she came to live with Shin in the Shining Needle Castle, she was pretty much homeless. And after she left, she was back to how it was before then.

She wonders, kicking a pebble in front of her as she walks, if she could ever go back. If Shin might forgive her if she apologized enough – like she'd ever _apologize_. But Shinmyoumaru was so cute, and so naïve, and loved Seija too much. And Seija, as painful and un-amanojakulike as it was, had almost loved her back.

Shin hates her now. Shin has to hate her now. But that's the life of an amanojaku: being hated. And that's what got her down here in the first place.

Seija hates a lot of things, and loves to hate them. But the easiest thing to hate is always going to be herself.

 

Eventually, she finds the cave she came in through, dark and imposing and cold. Her footsteps echo off the walls, click-clacking all around her as she makes her way towards the one light she can see. It's not the end of the tunnel, but it'll do for now.

Seija squints.

Well, shit. It's that bridge.

"Toll, please," the bridge princess says, floating down out of nowhere in a cloud of warped emotions so strong that they're literally visible surrounding her. "Oh. It's you. I'm not supposed to let you through."

"Not even if I ask nicely?" Seija says, bitingly.

"You could kiss the ground I walk on and I still wouldn't let you."

"Alright, I'll fight you. You wanna fight? Let's go."

The bridge princess laughs out loud in a short burst. "You don't have any powers. I don't really know what you're trying to do."

That's true. And no powers means no flight, which Seija isn't too thrilled about, but she's had worse. She darts forward as fast as she can, making as if to throw a punch to the gut. At the last moment, she slips under the bridge princess's raised arm, leaving the girl confused for the split second Seija needs to get away.

"See you later!" she calls over her shoulder triumphantly. And with that, she's sprinting off the way she remembers being taken just a few hours ago.

There really shouldn't be wind inside of a cave. That's Seija's first clue that something is off. The second is when a youkai woman drops suddenly from the cave ceiling, hanging upside down directly in front of Seija's face. "Going somewhere?"

Seiga shrieks, despite herself. "Fuck off!"

"Oh, I didn't mean to startle you." The youkai descends gracefully onto the ground, righting herself. "I just saw you come in this afternoon and… well. You were escorted down here. No one has been in a long time." She smoothes out her skirt, and Seija catches a brief glimpse of four non-human legs tucked up under it. An earth spider. That's just great. Now she can die of some horrible and rare disease, instead of going back up to get eaten by the gap youkai or something.

"Yeah," Seija says. "I'm not staying. Bye." She makes to push past the spider, but the youkai quickly moves in front of her once again.

"Ah, I didn't even introduce myself. Kurodani Yamame. And you're Seija, right?"

Seija grimaces. "Yeah. Kijin Seija."

"Oh, then you're one of the Four? It's nice to meet you. I've met two of the others before. Lovely people."

"I don't talk to them anymore," Seija says tersely. "I need to go."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Yamame replies, blocking Seija again. "Why don't you stay a little longer?"

"'Cause I need to go. Like now. Could you – get out of my way–?"

"I'm sorry. I'm something like a guardian of this cave," she says, moving in front of Seija at every turn. "I don't want to have to restrain you."

"Yeah, that _really_ makes me feel good!" Seija hisses, trying now to grapple with Yamame's unexpectedly strong arms. "You'll probably give me some weird disease and then eat me."

"That's the last thing I want to do," Yamame says, still somehow remaining calm as she pins Seija's arms down. "Let's just go back to Former Hell, shall we?"


	3. Chapter 3

If there's one thing Parsee can't stand, it's when people who shouldn't come over her bridge don't listen to her and cross her bridge anyway. She'd be jealous of them if it weren't so _stupid_. When she was first taken down underground, she was bound to her bridge, unable to leave it or even visit Former Hell for a chance at maybe feeling some warmth for once. That's all changed lately, with Yuugi breaking the seal that chained her to the bridge so that they could be together someplace nice and happy. She has the freedom to go wherever she wants now. So when people who are supposed to stay in one place just _don't_ , it makes her really, really angry. And the fact that the kid with the short little horns had just slipped by her doesn't make it any less irritating. So, in a way, she's more than pleased when Yamame shows up at the bridge, hauling the girl back towards the city.

"Can you let me _go_?" she hisses, pulling away from Yamame's hand.

"It depends. Do you promise to go back to Former Hell, or do I need to walk you there?"

"I don't need to be watched over. I'm not a baby," she snarls.

"Good. Prove it. Go back. The city is so welcoming, I promise. We'll be watching in case you decide you need to be restrained after all," Yamame smiles.

The girl spits on the ground and strides away, stomping across the bridge. Once she's out of hearing distance, Yamame turns to Parsee. "She didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

"She did."

Yamame nods. "I thought as much. She's an amanojaku."

"Isn't that an oni?" Parsee frowns.

"It's… a type of one, yes. Think of her as a very volatile and hateful oni who lives for misery."

"Huh… I hope she stays in the city. I kind of don't want to see her again."

"I know." Yamame starts spinning silk with her hands as she talks, readying herself to climb back up the cave's walls to her usual perch a few hundred meters away. "If she comes back, come get me, okay? I can handle her. I know how she feels."

"Hey, thanks," Parsee says. Yamame just smiles and slips up to the cave ceiling. Parsee forces a little smile as she waves goodbye. It's not much, but she's trying. Yamame has always been so nice to her, and Parsee doesn't really want to be the green eyed monster anymore.

In the meantime, she's going to check up on Yuugi. Being around Yuugi makes her stress just melt away; for her, Yuugi is the safest thing in the world.

It wasn't always like that. Yuugi used to piss her off like everyone else did. Yuugi pissed her off _worse_ than everyone else did. It took Parsee quite a while to realize that it wasn't that she hated Yuugi - she actually, genuinely liked her. And that scared her. It scared her a lot, but Yuugi was patient with her, and always made her feel better, and returned Parsee's feelings by what still feels like tenfold.

Former Hell is dark in the mornings, all of its lanterns extinguished from the night before. Parsee's never had trouble finding Yuugi's little house, though – she's used to seeing in the dark, and she knows the way by heart. She slips quietly through the front door into the kitchen, kicking her sandals off as she tiptoes through the house to where Yuugi sleeps.

Yuugi's sleeping form is easy to pick out even in the dim light, her broad chest rising and falling steadily. It makes Parsee feel like she's come home. She gently pushes Yuugi's shoulder, then nudges her, then finally shakes her by both shoulders when she doesn't stir.

"Huh? Wha's… Oh, hey, mornin', Par," Yuugi says sleepily but cheerfully. She pulls Parsee down to kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her mouth, then hoists Parsee right into bed with her.

"Ow, hey, what was that for?" Parsee says, but she's smiling. Yuugi's body is warm and comforting, and Parsee could easily snuggle under the covers and just sleep all day at Yuugi's side.

Yuugi chuckles. "Gotta be quiet. I've got a guest."

"Huh? Who is it, Suika?" Parsee asks as she shifts under the blankets to curl into Yuugi's arms.

"Nah. I ran into an old friend and she kinda needed a place to stay." Yuugi yawns, then continues, "She's on the futon in the basement."

"Nice. You didn't even give her the couch?"

"She didn't want it!" Yuugi huffs. "It's okay, though. Anyway, 'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Parsee says. She drapes her arm over Yuugi's waist, and easily slips back into a light, soft sleep.

* * *

 

It's noon when Parsee stirs again, at Yuugi hoisting herself out of bed with a rustling of blankets and a groan. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Mhmm," Parsee mumbles. "It's okay."

"I heard somethin' in the kitchen is all. I wanted to go check on my friend, see if she's up."

"Yeah." Parsee rolls off of the mattress and follows Yuugi down the hall. She's less than prepared for the sight that awaits her in the kitchen, and apparently neither is Yuugi.

An oni that Parsee kind of knows through Yuugi – Konngara, their name is, Parsee thinks – stands there in the doorway with a completely blank expression. Slung over their shoulder is a smaller oni, kicking at their captor and screeching "Let me go! What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?" The voice and outfit and stature are all too familiar to Parsee, and she suddenly feels like someone's just kicked her in the gut.

"Is that Seija?" Yuugi says, disbelief in her voice.

"I believe this one is yours," Konngara says.

"Yeah, she is. Thanks for droppin' her off. How'd you know?"

Konngara doesn't answer, just places the amanojaku onto Yuugi's kitchen floor, nods at Yuugi, and walks out into the street, shutting the door behind them. Seija doesn't stop grumbling, though, and everything all happens too fast – Yuugi reaches out to her, and she lifts her head, and her eyes lock directly onto Parsee.

"You!" she screams. "I have just about had it here and now _you_!"

"Get away from me. Get away from Yuugi," Parsee growls.

"Par, it's okay, it's cool, she's a friend. Seij, where did you go?"

"Do you really want to know? Fine. Last night I tried to leave and _this girl_ tried to stop me, and then I got carried back by some weird earth spider. I've been _trying_ to find somewhere quiet around here to relax from getting hunted down all day, but apparently all you shitstains ever do is get sloppy drunk down here. And then that person just picked me up and fucking carried me over here like I'm some kind of _animal_!"

 _That isn't inaccurate_ , Parsee thinks, which is kind of funny, but there's no way she's going to make a joke at a time like this. Yuugi is the only one who really appreciates her wry humor anyway.

"Yeah, that's… that's Former Hell for ya. Are you sure you don't wanna stay with me?"

 _No oh please no_ , Parsee thinks. She feels dizzy and nightmarish, and there's nothing she can do but just stand there panicking.

"I told you I can take care of myself," Seija huffs, turning away.

"Really. Huh. 'Cause it sure doesn't look like it!" Yuugi laughs, putting a hand on Seija's shoulder. "C'mon, Seij. For the four of us. It'll be like old times once we get Suika down here."

"Don't touch me," Seija snarls. "I told you to leave me alone. I'll figure it out down here."

"Yeah, um, good luck on that," Yuugi says, letting Seija go. The amanojaku huffs and promptly strides away, right out the door, like she owns the entire city. Of course, she slams it behind her. Hard.

When she's gone, Parsee lets out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I hope I never see her again."

Yuugi makes a displeased noise, uncharacteristic of her. "I dunno. After all that? I think I should probably keep an eye on her. Yamame looking out for her isn't really tellin' me anything good."

"Yamame will take care of her," Parsee says, jealousy rising bitterly in her throat despite her efforts to push it down. "She's difficult. She _wants_ to be difficult." _Pay attention to me instead_ , she can't help thinking.

"Yeah, she… she was always like that. Turned into an amanojaku. She can't really help it." Yuugi huffs. "Well, no sense in worrying, right? I'll let her go for now. She's still got no powers, and now Yamame's out there making sure she doesn't get back up to the surface, so…"

"She can't get very far," Parsee finishes.

"Yeah. Hey, how about I make this up to you? I'll take you out on a date tonight, okay? A real date."

"No bars," Parsee says immediately, though she perks up at the offer.

Yuugi holds her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "No bars. How 'bout a party in the streets?"

"How wild is it going to get?"

"Dunno. It's in the streets." Seeing the look on Parsee's face, she makes a little mock-pout. "Come on, Par. Give it a chance. I'll be with you the whole time, okay?"

Parsee groans, but laces her little fingers through Yuugi's big ones. "Okay. But if I don't like it we leave."

Yuugi squeezes Parsee's hand. "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

In the farthest recesses of Former Hell, where less oni live and the days and nights are quieter, Satori Komeiji sits and waits in her study.

She doesn't have much to do. She writes novels, she tends to her garden, she cares for her pets. The Palace of Earth Spirits doesn't get many visitors, so she can usually go about her work uninterrupted. Today, though, she doesn't feel like doing much of anything but sitting and waiting and thinking.

A cat, one of her non-youkai rescues, pads over to her where she sits in her favorite armchair and rubs his head against her ankle. "Oh, come here, little friend," she says quietly, letting him jump into her lap and curl up. This particular cat doesn't like being petted, so she simply scratches him behind the ears and on the sides of his face, and he's soon purring sleepily.

Cats are perfect, the most absolutely wonderful animal. Satori has seven, not including Orin, who is such a self-sufficient kasha that she barely counts as a pet. She loves them all so dearly, and their simplistic wordless thoughts tell her that they love her too.

Then there are the ravens that live up in the rafters. They don't bond to her as easily, but she cares for them nonetheless, giving them what their pictorial thoughts indicate they want and letting them make nests all over the mansion. They are much, much smarter than humans, if what she hears from them is anything to go by. Even Okuu, who can be forgetful and excitable and childlike, is incredibly knowledgeable about her nuclear reactor and how to control its temperatures. Satori is glad to have such wonderful pets living with her. Animals' thoughts are easier to handle than humans', or those of other powerful youkai. She likes to think of Orin and Okuu as the exception to the rule, since she adopted them when they were just a regular cat and a regular bird. But no matter what, they can't read her thoughts back, and it seems unfair to her.

Satori has a sister, tall and lanky where Satori is short and chubby, laughing where Satori cries. She used to be able to read minds too, before her incident. They used to sit together saying nothing, just reading each other's thoughts in an endless flow. It was the clearest Satori's mind has ever felt in all her life.

Koishi has been gone for ten years, and Satori's mental processes are all a mess.

 

The last time Satori saw her, it was just before the goddess from up above came to give Okuu her powers over nuclear fusion, and turned Okuu into a kind of goddess herself. Satori, hoping that her sister might want to reopen her heart, gave Koishi a cat she'd recently rescued to keep as a pet of her own. And Koishi had smiled and thanked her, but it felt so blank. Satori couldn't read her mind. It had been nothing but static. Koishi doesn't think anymore.

Satori wants nothing more than for her sister to come home. It is so lonely.

* * *

 

She doesn't know how much time has passed when it happens. She supposes she's dozed off. But Satori is quickly brought back to reality by a crash, and the approach of two sets of chaotic thoughts. The cat that had fallen asleep on her lap jolts up and sprints away, startled. Not a second later, Okuu barrels into the room, her cape spreading out behind her and fluttering above her wings. "Satori-sama!" she yells. "Satori-sama, me and Orin heard about this thing and we were wondering – oof!" She's cut off by Orin leaping behind her and grabbing her by the waist.

"Okuu, shut up. Satori-sama," Orin says. "Can we?"

It seems that her pets have picked up information about some kind of celebration, a festival in the streets of Former Hell. It would be hard to avoid the revelry, even if it didn't come too close to the Palace of Earth Spirits – the community of oni has a way of spreading their joy around, and it just makes Satori even lonelier.

"Is this tonight?" she asks, looking at the excited expressions on their faces.

"Yeah!" Okuu says, disentangling herself from Orin's arms and bounding over to stand in front of Satori.

"Very well… I'm not doing anything. Let's go, all three of us."

"Really, Satori-sama?" Orin gasps.

"Yaaaaaaay!" Okuu cheers.

Satori doesn't leave her house much; that's true. But it might be nice once in a while, if she doesn't get too overwhelmed by hearing so many people's thoughts at once. And besides, if there's a party, Hoshiguma Yuugi is bound to be there, and there's no better excuse to conveniently find a way to talk to Yuugi than by going into the place where Yuugi loves the most.

Satori smiles, pleased with herself. Tonight will be a good night.


	5. Chapter 5

Suika is very used to Reimu coming home and groaning. She always finds something new to groan about. Tonight is no different, four days after Aya dropped off the newspaper, three after Reimu went to fight Seija. She comes back into the shrine and heaves herself onto the floor, curling her feet under the kotatsu and pressing her face against its wooden surface. "It's over," she says wearily.

"Wha's over?" Suika asks, perched in her tiniest form on top of Shinmyoumaru's little cage house, swinging her feet back and forth.

"Amanojaku. I helped Yukari and Marisa bring her down to Former Hell. She got banished."

"What?" Suika asks. "I thought… Gensokyo didn't do that anymore."

"Yeah," Reimu sighs, not lifting her head. "We usually try not to do stuff like that, because getting them to hate us makes dangerous youkai even more dangerous. She was a special case, like, she was really _that_ bad."

"Mmmm." Suika draws her knees up to hug them. Shinmyoumaru is sleeping just below her, in the dollhouse's tiny bed. Suika can remember going down to live in Former Hell all those hundreds of years ago, but since she was with Yuugi and Kasen and Seija, it had been okay. And they'd met Konngara, and all the other oni who went down of their own free will. She thinks of Yuugi's tiny little now-girlfriend, who had been dragged down there screaming, and the small satori family, who were brought there in chains by the then-shrine maiden. It was really a place for oni, after all, but the oni were always so inviting. At least, Suika thought so. But now that she tries to remember it more objectively – the whole place was, and still is, an oni's city. Seija, rapidly developing into the most antisocial kind of oni out there, couldn't fit in with the boisterous, joyful atmosphere. It must have been hard on her. It's a wonder she stayed as long as she did.

Being forced back down into Former Hell must be the worst thing imaginable for her. But Suika's determined to make it at least a little better, just for old times' sake.

"Reimu? Where d'you think Kasen is?"

Reimu sighs very, very heavily. "She's still avoiding you?"

"Uh-huh. She kinda never stopped. I was thinking… since Seija's down there with Yuugi, and I'm here, and she's around here somewhere? Maybe I could, um… get us all back together one more time."

Reimu turns her head over just so she can look Suika in the face. "You're sure you want to do that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Kasen's house is on a specific route, I'll map it for you. But don't be disappointed if she says no, or anything like that, or if Seija isn't the Seija you remember."

"I went to see her already," Suika says.

"What? Kasen?"

"No, Seija."

"Wow. When?"

"Couple days ago. After you fought her. I didn't talk to her, but… you were right. That's Seija."

"Has she always been a pain in the ass?"

"I don't know," Suika says. "I think she's gotten worse. Last time I saw her she was still a regular oni, not an amanojaku."

"Oh, that'll do it."

"I wish… I wish I could turn her back to how she was. Before." Suika accidentally kicks the wall of Shin's cage, but she doesn't hear Shin stir, so it's probably okay. "I want us all to be friends again."

Reimu smiles wryly, cheek pressed into the tabletop. "Well, stranger things have happened."

* * *

 

Kasen's house is a big dojo nestled on the mountainside near the Moriya Shrine, somewhere warm and quiet. The path is leafy and green, and the sky is achingly blue, and Suika can't stop thinking about how nice it is to be out in the fresh air. When Suika trudges up to the tiny house – on foot, as Reimu instructed, or else she wouldn't be able to find the place – Kasen is outside, tending to some flowers, an eagle casually perched on her shoulder.

For a moment she doesn't say anything, just looks at Suika with that unreadable face of hers. "I should've known I couldn't avoid you forever," she says finally.

"Aw, Kasen, you don't have to try and sound all cool about it."

"I'm not. It's the truth. You're here, despite knowing that I've been trying not to make contact with you for over a year, plus the hundreds we were apart. So? What's the occasion?" The eagle stares directly at Suika too.

Now that Kasen isn't trying to run away from her or anything, she can really get a good look at her old friend. The Chinese-style dress looks so cute on her, and her skin looks healthier than it ever did underground. Her horns, once almost as long as Suika's, are gone, two chiffon caps over the places where they used to be. Her left arm is bandaged from shoulder to fingertip, and Suika knows from Reimu that it's because she has a youkai arm now, made of smoke and secured only by the wraps around it. Suika wants to touch it so badly, but she doesn't really know if it's because it's so weird and cool or because it's Kasen's.

"I just wanted to say hi," Suika says. "Do you want drinks?"

"I don't drink anymore," Kasen informs her curtly.

"Ohhhh. Sorry. Can I say hi to your bird?"

"...I guess." Kasen makes a clicking noise with her mouth, and the eagle flies over to perch on Suika's right horn.

"Hahaha, cool! Oh, um, Seija just got banished to underground again, so. I was actually thinking of getting us all back together," Suika says.

Kasen's shocked glare is so sharp it could slice Suika's skin. "No."

Suika tilts her head, and the bird flies off somewhere into the mountainside, nearly tipping her off balance. "Why nooooot?" she asks, despite already having a sinking feeling that she knows why.

"I like my life up here. I'm a hermit now. It's much more disciplined than Former Hell ever could be. And, in case you hadn't noticed, I really don't want to have any reunions with -" She cuts herself off, gritting her teeth. "Please don't think we can get back together."

"Kasen..." Suika looks down. "Is this about us? I mean, if you don't want to be around me, I... I kinda got that by now, but... For all of us."

"Ibuki-san. Please leave."

The formality hurts. It really, really hurts. Kasen couldn't have said anything more painful, more distant, if she had tried. And Suika knows now: she was wrong to try to do this, because they'll never be able to have the relationship they once had ever again.

She sighs and disperses herself into a fine mist, spreading herself out far away from Kasen's dojo. When she solidifies again, she slumps against a tree, and drains her sake gourd dry.


	6. Chapter 6

After she manages to escape Yuugi and the asshole from the bridge and that goddamn stoic one-horned oni, Seija sits in an alley, considering her options. The city isn't at all like she remembers it from all those hundreds of years ago, and she's definitely not staying. Most likely, the bridge isn't guarded right now. But that doesn't take care of the Yamame problem. And after she got picked up and carried back to Yuugi's door this morning, she can't trust _anyone_ to not be some kind of spy.

She supposes she could go to the bridge and claim it as her own, staking it out until the girl comes back or until Yamame sees her. Either way, she could totally take them in a fight. She's already beaten the bridge princess once, and Yamame might be able to give out deadly sicknesses, but she probably couldn't take a direct blow to the gut. If Seija's approximating correctly, that is.

It's a terrible plan. But Seija has been living her entire life by one terrible plan after another, and she's sure not going to stop now.

 

She darts along the least-lit streets, trying to find the same way she took in the morning. Eventually, she hears the echo of running water in a hollow space, and silently cheers herself. The bridge isn't lit up or marked or anything, but Seija finds it easily, and firmly plants her feet right in the middle of it. It's her territory now. All she has to do is wait to claim it for real.

"Parsee?" she hears someone call. "Have you seen Yuugi lately? I heard a rumor–" The light of a lantern flickers on, and Yamame's body comes into view, dangling just above the far edge of the bridge. "Ah, Seija! Welcome back."

"This bridge is mine now," Seija says confidently. "I'll fight you for it."

Yamame just laughs and shakes her head. "Oh? It's not mine to fight for, nor is it yours to take."

Seija _hmph_ s. She'll just have to wait until the bridge princess comes back.

"Why don't you come over here and we can talk?" Yamame continues. "How was your first day in the Ancient City?"

"It fucking sucked," Seija says.

Yamame sighs. "You know, the above hates it down here. They think it's dark and cold, and that there's nothing good underground. You're an amanojaku, am I right? You feed off loving things that others hate?"

Seija turns around to face the lights of the city. Maybe if she just ignores Yamame, the spider woman will get the message and leave her alone, finally.

"You must be starving down here. There isn't much hate around, I don't think."

 _That isn't how I work_ , Seija wants to say. She gets her sustenance from the hatred others feel for her. And it's true, she hasn't really felt any hate towards here, or even annoyance, but that just means she'll have to provoke it further until she can survive. It would be much, much easier to just go back above ground, where she already knows that people hate her. But they don't want her. That fills her with a brief feeling of satisfaction, but quickly disappears when she realizes it won't last forever. And if she can't get the oni in Former Hell to hate her, she's going to starve to death.

"They're trying to kill me," she says suddenly, looking over her shoulder at where Yamame's standing.

"Hmm?"

"They _knew_ if they shoved me down here I would have nothing left. I can't even – ugh!"

Yamame puts a hand on her hip. "You'll have to explain this to me more. I don't think I understand."

"I'm gonna starve. I eat people's hatred for me, it's what keeps me going. And if they didn't I could always reverse their emotions so they did, but now everyone's trying to throw some kind of fuckin' party for me, and I have no powers, I can't make them hate me…" Seija groans. "They want me to die."

"Yes, the overworld most likely does."

Seija doesn't say anything, but that thought does comfort her a bit.

"I think I could arrange to find a few meals for you, if you work with me."

"Don't need anyone's help."

Yamame laughs, and it echoes off the cave's walls. "You'll starve, then.  Stay there. When Parsee comes back, she won't be very happy to find you on her bridge. She's quite possessive."

Seija narrows her eyes. "She'll… hate me."

"Yes, that was the idea."

"I told you I don't need help."

Yamame's smile is all too knowing. "Who said I was helping you? I'm just looking out for this cave. And those of us who live in it."

Seija lies down, sprawling herself out on the bridge as much as she can. She even sticks her feet through the railings on the side, dangling them above the black water. "I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere. I'm not interested in being part of your little cave club."

Yamame just keeps looking at her. Finally, she shrugs, and slips back into the darkness.

* * *

 

Parsee doesn't come back all day. Seija memorizes each crack, each imperfection, in the cave's ceiling. She memorizes the way the water runs beneath her, the way the smallest sounds echo off the walls. Then she rolls over and memorizes the grain of the wood and the image of the calm water below the slats. She stares at it until it's all she can see, and it's hard to focus on anything else.

Someone comes to stand over her a few hours later, delicate but too many feet on the creaky bridge. "Oh?" Yamame says. Seija doesn't look up. She's kind of hoping she can sink right down into the bridge and become part of it. "Strange, Parsee's usually back by now…"

"Fine," Seija mumbles.

"What?"

"I said fine. What do I have to lose any more? I'll take you up on… whatever it was you said."

Yamame makes a small noise of surprise. "Ah! Well, in that case, would you like to get up from there?"

"Not really."

"You sure are difficult."

"Yeah, that's my job."

"I suppose it is."

 Seija rolls onto her side, curling her body inwards. "I don't get it. Why do you like me?"

"I never said I liked you. I don't."

"Yeah, but –"

"That doesn't mean I won't watch out for you."

Seija scoffs. "But like, what do you gain from being _nice_ to me?"

"I'm not sure. I think, probably, nothing at all. Does that make you happy?"

Seija takes a deep breath. "Yeah, actually. It… it kinda does."


	7. Chapter 7

The streets of Former Hell are quiet during the day, but once the night falls, the city comes alive, breathing in tune with its residents, a nonstop party. Parsee used to watch the drunken revelries from her bridge, infinitely jealous that she could never go to them. Now that she's free to do so, she doesn't want to go. It seems ridiculous, even to her – but the parties, in truth, scare her a little.

It always amazes Parsee how Yuugi somehow knows almost everyone in Former Hell. Everywhere they turn, Yuugi's calling out to someone, or being called out to. She holds on to Yuugi's hand tightly, the warm iron chains Yuugi wears brushing her wrist, and presses herself up against Yuugi when the crowds get thick. Yuugi's laughing, leading Parsee through the streets and looking back at her with a grin every so often. "Two beers, please!" she calls out to a street vendor, and receives two large glasses in exchange for some coins.

"I can't drink all this," Parsee says when Yuugi hands one off to her.

"Sure ya can. Watch!" Yuugi tips her glass back and drains three quarters of it in one go. Parsee's about to scowl that she knows Yuugi can binge drink and stay standing, she's seen it a million times, but then Yuugi offers the mostly-drained glass to her. "Trade ya."

Parsee looks bewildered for a second, then eagerly gives Yuugi her own glass. "Whoa, thanks."

"No prob. Can you drink all that?"

"I think so."

"Heheheh, good. 'Cause this night was made for partying!"

Some other oni around the street overhear Yuugi's proclamation and begin to cheer for her. Yuugi gives a wave, and then leans down to kiss Parsee right on the mouth.

* * *

It hasn't even been an hour and Parsee, despite having drunk only a fraction of what Yuugi did, is starting to feel the alcohol. She'd forgotten how dizzy drinks make her, and she kind of wants to go home. There are too many people, and they keep brushing up against her in the crowds. "Can we sit down?" she asks Yuugi, but she nearly has to yell over the noise of a hundred oni.

"What? Yeah, hang on." Yuugi reaches down and lifts Parsee right up onto her shoulders, so Parsee can see above the heads of the various tall oni surrounding her. Yuugi has carried her like this before, so it's not a big deal.

"The crowd thins out a little over there," she tells Yuugi, pointing. "We might be able to find somewhere to sit."

Dutifully, Yuugi pushes through the masses of oni and brings Parsee to the edge of the festival, letting her sit leaning against the side of a building. Yuugi sits by her side, one hand on Parsee's shoulder in a small soothing gesture.  "You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. Just tired. A little dizzy."

"Huh." Yuugi slides her hand down the length of Parsee's arm to entwine their fingers together. "You wanna go home?"

"A little… I can stay if you want, though."

"Let's just sit here for a little, okay? It'll help ya wind down."

Parsee presses her face into Yuugi's shoulder. It's warm, and safe, and makes Parsee feel at home. She closes her eyes and pretends she's in Yuugi's house, sitting up in Yuugi's bed before they go to sleep in each other's arms. It helps with the disorienting feelings a bit, though she'd like it if it were quieter. People keep coming up to Yuugi to talk to her, and Parsee just lies there, eventually moving her head onto Yuugi's lap. It makes her feel warm inside when Yuugi starts stroking her hair absentmindedly.

Parsee's just about dozed off when she hears someone apparently trying to talk to her. "Aren't you the bridge princess? What're you doin' up here?"

Parsee's eyes flutter open as she tries to plan out some snarky response, but Yuugi just says, "Hey, chill, she's with me."

"Oh, sorry, Yuugi. Just got kinda worried."

"I can hear you, you know," Parsee snaps, at the same time as Yuugi narrows her eyes and says, "Worried about what, exactly?"

"The bridge not being guarded? Y'know, that's not safe."

"The bridge is guarded perfectly fine," Parsee says, gritting her teeth. She raises her head off Yuugi's lap and tries to stand up, but another wave of dizziness hits her, and Yuugi's hand is heavy on her back.

"Par," Yuugi says quietly, rubbing small circles into Parsee's shoulders with her thumb.

"My mistake. See ya," the other oni says, backing off into the crowd.

"Asshole," Yuugi mutters. "Don't listen to 'em, Par."

Parsee just groans and slumps against Yuugi again. In less than a minute her mood has gone from bad to worse, and she just wants this whole thing to be over and for them to go home and curl up together and she feels _so uncomfortable_ with all the noise and the people around and she _hates_ –

And when she opens her eyes again, there's a small woman standing there, who she hadn't heard approach. She has a third eye delicately positioned over her heart, and she looks incredibly worried, her gaze fixed directly on Parsee.

"Ah," the woman says, nothing more than a breath, but Parsee hears. What's that supposed to mean? She can't read this lady's face, can't pull out something to manipulate to make her jealous, Parsee's only flimsy defense in times like this.

"Oh, hey, Satori! How are ya?" Yuugi perks up at the woman's arrival.

"I'm well," Satori says, kneeling down to meet Yuugi's level sitting on the ground. "I thought it might be nice to get out once in a while." To Parsee she says, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Parsee makes a little noise, but has difficulty getting her voice to come out.

"Yeah! This is my girlfriend Parsee. Uh. You probably already knew that, huh..."

Satori gives a shy little smile. "I did. But thank you nonetheless."

It doesn't take Parsee long to figure out that Satori, true to her name, is a mind reader. And that makes Parsee's blood boil. All her envy, jealousy, hatred, right there on display? All her thoughts an open book to this complete stranger? Parsee decides immediately that she hates this Satori, because Satori must already hate her, after seeing what the inside of her disgusting mind is like.

"Please don't make assumptions like that," Satori says, out of nowhere.

"Par?" Yuugi asks, confused.

It's overwhelming. All of it is overwhelming. Yuugi. Satori. Strangers, all of them drunk and happy, and here she is so sad and angry all the time. And Satori can _see it_. Everything hurts and it's too much and she thinks she might throw up.

"I need to go," Parsee mumbles. "Sorry." And with that, she stumbles to her feet and turns and runs through the streets of Former Hell.

"Par!" she hears Yuugi call behind her, but Parsee is smaller and faster, despite being slightly off balance, and easily loses Yuugi.

 

Once she's back at her bridge, gasping air and hunched over at the water's edge, she finally begins to cry. Why the fuck did she do that? Why does she keep ruining things? Why does Yuugi even bother with her?

It's quiet and dark and lonely by the water's edge, just the way she's used to it. She hunches herself down into a tiny ball under the bridge, and cries and cries until her throat hurts.


	8. Chapter 8

Yuugi's thoughts are racing, and it's hard for Satori to keep up. She just drifts along calmly behind Yuugi, waiting. "Par!" Yuugi keeps calling, but Satori can see that Parsee's slipped out of the oni's sight.

"She's going back to her bridge," Satori says. Escape had been the first thing on Parsee's mind when she started running, so Satori thinks it's probably safe to assume.

"Ugh," Yuugi mutters. "Shit. _Shit_. I never shoulda brought her out here, she gets kinda overwhelmed easily…"

"I know," Satori says quietly. "I know. But she'll be fine."

"I guess you would know, huh…"

"She wants to be alone so she can sort everything out. Her thoughts were very jumbled. I know you want to go and see her, but it would be best if you didn't right now." It's become a habit of Satori's to respond to people's thoughts before they can say anything, and while Orin and Okuu may be used to it, she sometimes has a hard time remembering that most people aren't. "I'm sorry. She'll be alright, I can promise you that."

"Yeah… I guess," Yuugi says, scratching at the back of her neck.

Satori nods. The love that Yuugi feels for Parsee is overwhelming, even though Satori experiences it secondhand. And mixed with it on the surface, currently, is guilt. "Please don't worry, Hoshiguma-san," she says. "She doesn't blame you. It's not your fault." Once she hears Yuugi start to warm up to the idea of just going home for the night, she sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, 's cool. I guess I'll go see her tomorrow. Uh, have a good night."

Satori smiles shyly. "Same to you, Hoshiguma-san. I'd like to see you again sometime. Please feel free to come to my house anytime you like. I'm sorry I couldn't invite you at a more peaceful time."

"Nah, it's cool. See ya." And with that, Yuugi takes her leave.

 

It doesn't take long for Satori to weave through the crowd and find Orin and Okuu, her third eye so attuned to their thought patterns by this point that it's effortless for her. She finally pinpoints them at a grilled fish stall, Orin sitting comfortably in Okuu's lap and both of them giggling.

"Satori-sama, hey!" Okuu calls, spreading her large wings out wide.

"Hello, Orin, Okuu. I have an unexpected errand to do. Will you two be alright here by yourselves?"

"Yeah, of course!" Orin says.

"Very well. Make sure you get home safely, okay?"

"We will!" the two of them say in unison. Satori smiles. It's kind of cute how her two strongest pets always get along so well. She says her goodbyes, and turns to the darkened back streets of Former Hell.

 

Parsee's thoughts are very, very negative and very, very strong. Satori can hear them before she even enters the cave; faint at first, but then getting louder. _You're useless you should die you're the worst Yuugi doesn't love you no one loves you all you ever do is fuck things up_ , and so on, in an endless flow of self-hatred so loud it almost physically knocks her back.

Nevertheless, Satori is the one who started this, so she's going to be the one who fixes it.

"Hello, bridge princess," she calls softly, trying to figure out where Parsee even is. "It's Satori. May I cross?"

Parsee's voice, thick with tears, comes from under the bridge. "No."

"I'm so sorry if I startled you earlier," Satori says slowly, choosing her words carefully. "It was... the first time I had heard someone with a thought process similar to mine. It shocked me."

"Yeah, well," Parsee sniffles, "there's a reason everyone hates you."

"I know."

"Stop reading my mind," Parsee howls, and her thoughts get even more negative, a wordless mess.

"I just wanted to apologize. Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

She can hear Parsee trying not to cry. "Leave me _alone_."

Of course, Parsee doesn't actually want to be alone. Parsee wants love, comfort, the touch of someone who cares about her, Yuugi's arms holding her tight. Satori can't give that, but she can at least try to calm Parsee down. She makes her way down the riverbank and under the bridge, where Parsee's sitting, her negativity clearly visible around her, warping the space she sits in. "Could we talk?" Satori says quietly. The way she says it makes it sound like she's trying out how the words taste.

She hears Parsee consider it, and then break down into tears. Satori gently puts a hand on Parsee's shoulder, the way Parsee's memories of Yuugi show, and rubs in tiny circles until Parsee's finished crying.

"Invading someone's personal space isn't going to make them like you any better," Parsee finally says, when she's stopped sniffling.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

Parsee looks down into the water. "I guess I can't lie to you," she says after another long pause. "I don't know."

"I'd like to talk, if you're up for it."

She knows Parsee has nothing better to do than just keep staring into the water. "Okay," she says softly. An impulse flashes in Parsee's mind – to make Satori jealous, twistedly jealous, so much that she'll wonder why she ever came here.

It's almost stunning to hear such a strong thought all at once. "Oh," Satori breathes. "Parsee, I'm jealous already."

Parsee huffs. "No. I didn't do anything."

"You don't have to. I'm jealous of you and your inability to read minds. Not to mention those eyes of yours. Did Yuugi give you that scarf?"

"Yeah, she did." Parsee rubs the soft material against her fingers.

"You have someone who deeply cares about you by your side. I'm... jealous of that, too." Satori smiles weakly. "I have my pets, but they're just that. It's… I don't talk about it very often, but my younger sister has been missing for years."

"Oh," is all Parsee can think to say.

"I miss her very, very much," Satori continues. "But... I think that one day she'll come home. When she's ready." She closes her eyes and begins to answer Parsee's unspoken questions, one by one. "Her name is Koishi. She's taller than me, and we couldn't look more different. But we both share the burden of having a third eye. Or, she did." She smiles sadly and clasps her fingers together. "She cut off her ability to read minds, and in doing so, destroyed her ability to feel or think at all. Soon after that, she was gone."

"I'm sorry," Parsee says, and Satori can tell she means it.

"Thank you. It isn't your fault, but I appreciate it." Satori looks up to the cave's roof. "But, more to the point, we – you and I – think the same way. We've both been through some very real trauma. And I can't blame you for reacting the way you did to me reading your mind. Most people despise me for it."

A painful memory rises in Parsee's mind, the way she became a bridge princess. It's only brief flashes of images and feelings, but Satori can piece it together easily: Parsee loved a girl who left her for a man. Jealousy overtook her, and she tried to kill the man to win the girl back, and in doing so, bound herself to a bridge, malice and envy twisting her very being.

"Oh," Satori says. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"About… oh. Yeah. Um… thanks. It's okay now, I guess. I've been down here for years." She gives a short, barking laugh. "And I guess I've got Yuugi." _If she still loves me after this_.

"Yuugi loves you," Satori says, so gently. "Yuugi... absolutely, purely adores you."

"How can she?" Parsee grumbles. "You – you know... the inside of my head is all..."

Satori repetitively taps her own knee in concentration. "I've seen someone insecure, bound to a life of hatred and jealousy. All of us down here, we're much the same. But I can also see how much Yuugi means to you, even if you try to push her away, intentionally or otherwise. And... to be honest, you mean the world to her. I can read her mind too."

Parsee watches the dark water pass below her feet for a long moment, not thinking about anything except its gentle current. "I don't know," she finally says.

"That's alright," Satori says comfortingly. Without asking - and, really, she never needed to ask, because Parsee was secretly wishing for it all along - she places a kind, gentle hand on Parsee's shoulder. "Why don't you come to my home next time? It might be a little more agreeable for talks such as these."

Parsee nods glumly.

"Get some rest tonight, okay? You deserve a good night's sleep." Satori stands up, stretching her arms. Before she turns to leave, though, she adds, "And just in case you're still having doubts, I know Yuugi will visit you tomorrow morning."

_She probably won't show up._

"She will. Remember, she's loyal to her promises, right?"

Parsee mumbles something that sounds like agreement. Satori gives a small smile. "All right. Have a good evening, Parsee."

"Yeah," is all Parsee says. But in her head, she adds, _Thank you_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POSTING FANFICTION INSTEAD OF STUDYING FOR MY EXAM IN 30 MINUTES
> 
> if you're wondering what's the deal with parsee in this fic, she has borderline personality disorder, highly inspired by my own experiences with bpd and jealousy and thought errors. i'm pretty sure everyone who reads my fics knows how mentally ill i am at this point just based on what i write about.
> 
> more parsee & satori pls


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